Reinforced tubing



Jan. 1946- T. w. STEDMAN REINFORCED TUBING Filed Sept. 24, 1942 INVENTOR THEoooRE W. STEDMAN AT'roRNEYs apparentto those skilledin-them't.`

to ThexFi-estone Tl'e dt Rubber Ohiorcorporation of Ohio o p ny.

4 Application September 24,1942; s m No. 459505 i ;3 Claims. (01.138-56) inventions relstes to or hose, such as flexible tubing or hose tor the conducting oi fluids, and more especially cit-relatesto tubing o! the character mentioned that is. provided with external reinio-cement or amor. i An illustrative example oi asituation wherein the improved tubins is sdvantageously employed 'is the sasoline dispensinr` hoses of automobile service .lstations. suchhoses are extensively flexedduring use,they -are exposed to the elements, and to the heat and coldoi dflerent seasone. Furthermore, such' hoses are subject to V abrssion,i andirequently come into contact with oil. srease, gasoline, and` other products supplied by said stations. The tubingo! the invention also maybe useiully employed for electrical conduits, and !or 'the braking systems oi automotive i and other vehicles whereinathe hoses employed aresubject to hish internalpressures as well as to other -rigorous-service conditions. I The im-v e proved'tubinc has many other 'useful' applications in domestic and industrial arts as readily will be The ohiet o ect& o! theinvention are to provide r einio'ced` tubim or: hose whereot the rein- !orcing 'structure is inherently. ilexibie; 'is nonresilient, elastic composition, and a fabric sheath or jacket mounted upon the exterior thereof. The tube body n usually is composed of high grade vulcanized rubber composition, which is suitably compounded to give optimum results in the situation for which the hose is designed The invention is not limited, however, to the use oi, rubber in the tube body 10, and where the tubing is to be employed in contact with hydroi carbons or other chemial constituents that detrimentally aflect rubber. suitable synthetic rubber or rubber like composition, such 'as "Buna" inflammsble; is abrsion resistins; is substantially chemically inert; and which has relatively hish tensiie stre nsth Further objects are to provide a tube-reintorcing structure that is light so as not to soiten under` usual service conditions: that is but ssty aflected by musht:

that has but slight tendency to cold now; which is highly resistoni: to orcanicsolvents; and that is fabricated !rom smooth plastic strands, strip's or 'moments which ,will slide over one another without; nicking. ;Another object is to provide tubing or hose comprisinc an armoring sheath ot !abric hevins thefiaiorementioned physical in weight; that is sumciently resistant to heat and chemical characteristics. other obiects wu be maniiest ss the description proceeds. or the accoinpanying drawing: Fix. 1 is a sectional perspective view oi anen portion ot 'a reintorced hoe constitutingone e'mbodiment of the invention.- and a coupli'rg flxture mounted -thereom p Fle. 2 is a'verspective views! an end portion oi snother'embodiment o! the invention, and a couplinc flxture thereon: and

Fier-3 and ng -4 are "views similar to Ris. 2 -or two other embodiments ot the invention.`

Reierrin to rime 1 ot the drawins, there is shown a reiniorced hose or tube structure comprisin sn inner tube body Il oi dense. nexible,

(a butadiene copo1ymer),-'1'hiokol" (a polyalkylene sulflde) or neoprene (a polychioroprene) may be employed in place of rubber as the resilient orelastic composition.

The fabri'c sheath or Jacket ll is a. seamless, circular; square-woven structure that extends !rom one end oi the tube body to to the other. A shown in Fig.v 1, the sheath ll is composed of a muitiplicity ot longitudinally extending warp strands or moments. and a single welt strand that extendshelicsly oi the sheath and is interwove with said warp strands. The said strands .or illanents preierably are about 17 to 20`mi1s diameter, and are closely woven so as to provide a Jacket of flne mesh. since only one weit strana `is employcd, the pitch thei-eo! is extremely low 'with the result that there is little or no tend- .ency oi the hose to twist when subiected to internal pressure. When the tube body o has a thick wall and is relatively stili, the jacket may be woven directly upon it. If the tube body has `a, thin wall and is fleibe. itis prerersble that the jacket I I he separately woven, and of slightly smaller inside diameter than the outside diameter of the tube body s.. 'I'he letter may then be collapsed and drawn into the tubular jacket, and thereai'ter expanded so asfitb become flrmly attsched to the jacket.

A distinsuishing charscteristic or the invenf tion'gis the composition ,oi the strands or fllaments that make up the sheath or jacket ll, said illaments being composed oi materials known as "plastics," and being mono-filaments. The class ot materials employed in the manui'acture ot the novel sheaths described herein are polymeric or co-polymer'ic resins-in combination with suitatle plasticizers and stabilizers, with which may be incorporated suitable coloring pigmerts. dyes, or

other coloring material. ii' desired. In its specific aspsts, the material 'prefersbly employed in the mniiacture of 'the improved tubing sheath is the s'roup derived !rom the polymerization oi' vinylidene choride either alone or coniointly with one or more compounds selected from the group which consists oi' the vinyl halides (of which vinyl chloride is typical), the lower aliphatic esters of vinyl alcohol (of which vinyl acetate is typical), the lower aliphatic esters of methacrylic and acrylic acids (of which methyl methacrylate and ethyl acrylate are typical), and styrene together with its nuclear substituted chlorine derivatives (of which styre'ne and meta chlorstyrene are typical). The vinylidine chloride composition per se constitutes the subject matter of U. S. Patent to R. M. Wiley, No. 2,233,442, issued March 4, 1941.

The composition is thermo-plastic. but at substantially elevated temperature, and when in fluent condition it may be extruded into mono-fllaments of the shape and length desired. To make the material more readily extrudable and ductile, however, suitable plasticizers and/or stabilizers are preferably added, as is well known in the art of vinylidene chloride plastics. The material is then extruded through a die to the desired cross-sectional contour, and is then drawn by elongating the strip or strand, while still in a plastic state, to reduce the cross-sectional dimension of the strand to the desired size.

As distinguished !rom other common plastics, vinylidene chloride plastics possess a substantial degree of fibrous crystallinity. Normally, these fibrous crystals lie in a random, heteroseneous arrangement, in which condition the plastic is found to have physical properties in the ordinary range oi' other thermoplastic materials known in the prior art. Partially by extrusion, and more completely by the drawing operation, the flbrous crystals are re-aiigned or oriented in an orderly linear pattern. When such an extruded, oriented plastic strand is stressed, each crystal theoretically assumes its share of the load and the more desirable physical properties enumerated in the objects above are attained.

An important characteristic of the plastic sti-and or fllament thua manutactured is that its desirable qualities, particularly its pliability, are unafiected by all ordinary atmospheric temperature changes. The filament has a tensile strength as high as 60,000 lbs. per sq. in., a high iiexural strength of 15,000 to 17,000 lbs. per sq. in., a high impact strength, and a. high resistance to heat. It is very tough, being resistant to cutting or slitting, as with a knife, and free from grain structure and from splitting. The material becomes stronger with age, and is non-inflammable, non- Water absorptive, and unafiected by acids, alkalies or ordinary organic solvents such as gasoline, benzene, naphthas, alcohols and the like. The fiaments ma also be colored as desired, suitably b incorporating a pigment of the desired color in the plastic before it is extruded.

After being cooled, the extruded and oriented filaments may be utilized in the production of the tubular sleeve or jacket ll by weaving the filaments in the manner described hereinabove.

The improved reinorced hose described is completed by the application of coupling fixtures to the respective ends thereoi'. Each of said coupling fixtures comprises a tubular insert or nipple M having an outside diameter slightly larger than the inside diameter of the tube body III, and formed with external circumferential flanges or ribs Ma, lla, said insert or nipple being forced into the tube body, at the end thereoi', to reinforce the tube body and slightly to distend the same. Externally applied to each hose-end,.and over the end portion of the jacket l I thereon, is a sleeve-like flxture II, the portion -thereof that flts over the said jacket being relatively thin and initially of greater inside diameter than the out side of the letter, and being interiorly formed with a series o! circumferentially extendinz ridges or ribs ita, lsa. The outer end portion ot the coupling I i is oi' reduced diameter, and is tormed, as shown in the drawing, with male screw threads lt, although it will be understood that a female threaded element may be employed if desired. After the coupling nxture I! is applied to the hose-end as described. the intemally ribbed por .tion thereoi' is then constricted or spun down to smaller diameter, with the result that the rlbs lsa are pressed into the hose structure ll and jacket II thereon. The arrangement is such as to anchor the ends of the fabric jacket il to the hose structure II, and to prevent accidental removal oi the coupling flxtures.

The invention provides a superior reinforced hose or tube that is lighter in weight than similar structures employing metal reinforcement, that is inherently flexible, that is strong and durable, .and which achieves the other advantages set out in the foregoing statement of objects.

The embodiments of the invention shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are identica with that shown in Flg. 1 in all respects except the construction of the plastic !abric reinforcing jacket or sleeve thereon. In Figure 2 the jacket, which is designated as a whole by the numeral il, is composed of mono-filaments that are braided into a continuous circular sleeve. As shown, these filaments are essentially similar to the filaments of the jacket H, but they may diller therefrom in size and shape if desired. In Figure 3 the circular jacket, which is designated Il is knitted from mono-filaments. Obviously a jacket o! this construction will not prevent substantial distension of the tubing and theretore will not be used in situations where the tubing is subjected to high internal pressure.

In Fig. 4 the circular jacket is designated 20 and is composed o! mono-filaments that are in the form of tapes, that is, that are relatively wide as compared to their thickness. The said tapes are wrapped about the nose-structure o in groups, all of which are disposed approximately at an angleof 45 degrees to any longitudinal surface line, some of the fllaments being laid in one direction so as to intersectthe first mentioned filaments substantially at an angle of 90 degrees.

An inherent feature oi' the tube reinforcing jacket of the invention is the fact that the extruded plastic strands, strips or flaments which make up the jacket are so smooth that they will slide over one another without nicking. This characteristic is important whenever the application of a high pressure within the tube causes the same to distend strongly against the jacket. When such condition arises, the smooth plastic strands of the jacket readily slide over one another without any nicking of th'e strands occurring, so as to allow the applied stresses to be uniformly distributed throughout the jacket. The tubular reinIorcing jacket is, therefore, expensible and contractible, and is adapted to fit snugly around the enclosed elastic resilient tube at all times.

Reference is made to the applicant's copending Patent No. 2,354,-i36, which discloses that the applicant manufactured durable and flexible vinylidene chloride monoiilament iabrics at an early date.

2,sos,49e

Other modification may be resorted to without depnrtng !rom the spirit oi the invention, or the scopo thei-eo: as deflned by the appended claim.

what is claimed is:

1. Reintorced tubing comprising an inner flexible tubular structure oi' rubber or rubber-iike i composition, and an outer continuous circular !abric sheath mounted thereou,` said sheath composed ot mono flaments consisting essentialiy of a vinyiidene chloride copolymer and a piasticizer, the maments having an oriented crystalline structure.

2. Reintorced tubing comprising an inner flexibie tuhulastructure of nbber or rubbe--like composition and an outecontinuous circular fabxic aheatl' compoed ot mono-mamen interwoven o as to form a protective jacket of fine mesh, said fllaments consisting essentially of vinylidene chloride copolymer having an oriented crystailine structure. said fllaments bein physically unattached to said inner tubular structure and to each other to provide relative movement v other to provide relative movement therebetween.

THEODORE W. STEDMAN. 

